


Coffee, Cooking and Cuddling

by Rizzles29



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8772922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizzles29/pseuds/Rizzles29
Summary: So you - the most clumsy woman in the whole world - literally run into the most beautiful and uptight woman you ever saw while grocery shopping. She hates you instantly and blames you for the whole thing while you're too distracted by her beauty to stop yourself from being sassy. But you can't stop the magnetism that hovers between you two, and neither can she. So you keep apologizing and asking for a coffee date, she repeatedly says no.





	1. CHAPTER ONE

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank Jess for being there for me, cheering me up and telling me I could do it! Girl, your the best, I hope you know that. Also have to leave my thank you for my beta who faced a bunch of difficult things while helping me, and let you - Rachel - know that I could hear a voice telling me "you shouldn't put it that way" or "remember the comma before the quotation mark" even when you couldn't be there with me. Now, Joana, my portuguese girl, seriously I couldn't ask for a better artist. We have the same mother tongue but we manage to communicate in both languages without even noticing. You are extremely talented, Jo, you should know that. Thank you for having me as your author! Obrigada ♥
> 
> I should now thank the people who were there without even knowing they were inspiring me. First, mom and dad, hope you don't mind me using a couple of childhood stories in this one even though you won't read it or know about it! I love you both. Then my friends from the LLBFF's group, Rizzoli & Isles gave me friends from all over the world without intending to do it, and for that I'm thankful. Theresa, you're my special girl, I hope you know you're extremely important to me even though we don't have the time to talk like we did before. Ich liebe dich, wunderschön. 
> 
> Last but not least, I would like to thank a special person. I'm not sure you'll read this, but this is the first time I spend so much time writing something that's not about you or us directly, and that should be weird for you to read but I hope you understand. Thank you for every moment, even the ones we hurt each other. You're part of my growth, you've been there for every version of myself, you taught me about love at first sight, you taught me how to love. Eu te amo. I see you soon then.
> 
> And I want to thank you, yeah you, who's spending your time reading my story. Thank you, I really hope you enjoy it and can forgive any mistakes/typos/etc I couldn't send everything to my beta in time, I'm sorry.
> 
> Edit 06/30/2017: Here's a small playlist on spotify with songs I listened to while writing this story. (https://open.spotify.*com/user/laizbitencourt/playlist/2PH0coPxG7LmI44UCKJjeM)

**CHAPTER ONE**

 

 

            Tuesdays are her grocery shopping days. Is she such a complete control freak that she has predetermined a day for grocery shopping? No, she isn’t. Emma Swan is a 28 year-old homicide detective, a completely disorganized homicide detective. But after moving out of her parents’ house a year ago, and eating nothing but take-out food for months, she convinced herself a set grocery shopping day was worth the hundreds she was giving the restaurants around her neighborhood. So, every Tuesday morning she would go to the supermarket, despite everything. It’s about survival, not enjoyment – but who am I kidding, this whole Grocery-Tuesday started when she couldn’t buy a new Playstation after she spilled coffee on the last one thanks to all the money she would waste on eating out.

            Tuesdays are Regina Mills’ least busy days the week and she has scheduled her grocery shopping for precisely 9:00 AM., Regina is 38 years-old and owns a bookstore and café that take almost all of her time so she keeps a strict schedule. Her entire life was planned out in her daily calendar. Wake up at 5:30, workout, wake Henry, breakfast, and school drop off, and on and on all day, every day. Her life was so scheduled that there was no room for anything unscheduled.

            Emma hastily entered the coffee aisle pushing the cart, balancing her coffee and phone. A loud crash rang through the aisle as Emma’s cart smashed into another causing Emma to drop her phone and coffee. Regina was not amused when the beautiful green-eyed blonde picked up her phone while quietly cursing the mess she made.

            “I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking, totally my fault.” the blonde exhaled, slumping her shoulders

            “Yes. Clearly,” the brunette stated, before turning to look for the item written on her list.

            “What?!” Emma exclaimed, shoving her phone into her back pocket then crossing her arms.

            “I said that it is clearly totally your fault that you hit your cart into another. You can’t expect anything from someone who plays “flappy pokemon” while grocery shopping,” Regina remarked as she turned her back to the younger woman. She gathered the two bags of coffee she needed before moving her cart away from the crash site and further down the aisle.

            “FYI, ma’am, I wasn’t playing either flappy bird or pokemon go. But it doesn’t matter what I was doing, I said I was sorry and the polite answer would be ‘it’s not a big deal’ instead of a ‘yes, clearly’” she said while following behind the brunette.

            “Well, darling, the polite thing would be for you to not use your phone while pushing these carts, the polite thing would be for you to look where you are going and avoid running into people. So I don’t think you should be a part of the politeness patrol, you clearly do not know the first thing about that,” Regina sighed, losing the little patience she had left after the incident.

            “Don’t call me darling,” Emma huffed as she stopped her cart next to Regina’s.

            “I wouldn’t like to call you anything, darling,” Regina smirked. If she hadn’t been raised by Cora Mills, Regina would roll her eyes and tell the blonde to fuck off. But she was Cora Mills’ daughter, so she was being as polite as the situation would permit.

            “Not really a surprise that such a big ass would be attached to an ass,” Emma said under her breath before rolling her eyes and backing off.

            “Excuse me, miss!”   The older woman fumed, causing the vein in the middle of her forehead to pop out, as she turned to the blonde. 

            “I just said you are clearly an ass with a big ass, ma’am,” The detective stated defiantly as a mischievous smile played on her lips. She was having some fun with this mess after all.

            “You just proved my point about you being anything but polite, darling,” Regina smirked.           

            “I said don’t call me darling,” Emma scowled.

            “Or what, darling? You’re going to have someone arrest me?” Regina smirked.

            Emma smiled, thinking she just got the upper hand. She took her badge from her belt and showed it proudly to Regina, expecting to scare the older woman.

            Regina scoffed before taking a card from her purse and handing it to the detective. “When you make up your mind between abuse of power and this apparent urge of using your handcuffs on me, call my lawyer and let her know that you had Regina Mills arrested for calling you ‘darling’.” 

            She put her items in the cart and pushed it away from a thunderstruck Emma.


	2. Chapter Two

**CHAPTER TWO**

 

            Three days later Emma was still thinking about Regina Mills. The blonde couldn’t believe the nerve that woman had. The thing that made everything worse was the undeniable attraction that Emma experienced after taking a second look at the bold older woman. Maybe, if she hadn’t been coming off a long night at work, she wouldn’t mind the answer that woman gave to her. Maybe she wouldn’t even spare a second look at her but that’s a lie; Emma would never miss the opportunity to take a long look at a body like that. Regina was clearly older than her, but Emma had never seen a body that looked like it came out of some artist’s portfolio.

            The barista smiled at the blonde but Emma missed it and just thanked the girl without looking at her. It was the second time that week that the detective grabbed a cup of coffee from that café. It was a cozy and clean place, with tables neatly positioned around the space and some stools next to the counter. Emma took a look around the place, observing a few people who would already be seated at the tables, reading something, oblivious to the world. Only then, she realized there were doubled doors leading to another establishment. She took another sip from the steaming cup, feeling the hot liquid help wake her up, before she walked through those doors. Again, she was coming off a long night of paperwork at the precinct.  She decided to stay and work through her paperwork pile to help her avoid thinking of Regina and their encounter.

            She looked around the bookstore attached to her new favorite café and sighed; it was a beautiful place, just like the café. She was tired, but not enough to just go home and fall asleep as soon as her body hit the bed. So she decided that she would take a look at some books and magazines, before walking home, and hope for at least 6 hours of sleep without dreaming about Ms. Mills. Emma continued browsing through the store as her mind continued to race.  She couldn’t understand why she had gotten so obsessed about the older woman. Maybe because she hadn’t dated anyone for 6 months, maybe because that was the most beautiful and sexy woman she ever saw, or maybe because the woman was so right about Emma wanting to use handcuffs on her it should be illegal. She stopped in the middle of the crime novel aisle and downed a good amount of coffee, hoping the burning sensation would shut her brain up. After few moments of looking at the new crime novels, she took a random book from the shelf.

            “That’s a cliché.”

            “Fuck. I’m hallucinating now,” Emma said, closing her eyes and deciding she needed more sleep than she thought.

           “Well, darling, I don’t know what you’ve been using in your spare time but you’re not hallucinating right now. Would you please just open your eyes before you spill your coffee on _my_ floors this time?” Regina smirked.

            “Your floors?” Emma asked as she turned to face the brunette, still wondering if this was real.

            “Yes, officer, my floors. You’re in my bookstore, and I would very much like to keep my floors free from your morning beverage,” Regina explained as she slowly moved toward Emma.

            “Detective, I am a detective,” Emma exasperated

            “Well, darling, it doesn’t matter as long as you keep my floors clean,” Regina grinned before turning around and walking away.

            “Wait!” Emma said, almost desperately, taking long steps after the brunette.

            “Yes, Miss…,”Regina said as she turned to Emma.

            “Swan, Emma Swan,” stammered Emma as she noticed Regina was looking at her, waiting for her to say something.  “Look, Ms. Mills right?” The brunette only nodded, annoyance still playing across her face. “Ms. Mills, I’m sorry about the other day and…”

            “Apology accepted, Ms. Swan. Now if you don’t need anything else, I would like to get back to my office,” Regina said as she took a step back, meaning to head upstairs to her office.           

            “Actually, the café upfront has some really great coffee. I would like to have some with you, I mean; I would like to invite you for some coffee. To… I mean, to make up for the other day,” Emma asked as she stepped forward. This was the opposite of the interrogation-room-Emma-Swan. She would never stammer like this, so unlike her to be lacking confidence.

            “Nice try, Ms. Swan. But I won’t let you have some good coffee for free at my café.” Regina stated before turning around and walking fast to the staircase.

            “No, no, no… I’m… I’m paying for it,” Emma said as soon as she got a hold of Regina’s arm.

            Regina shot a piercing look at her hand. The blonde let go immediately.

            “Look, I just really wanna make up for the bother the other day. If you don’t wanna go for a coffee, maybe lunch? Anything,” Emma blushed.

            “Well, darling, I don’t have the time or the desire to go for a coffee with you, and I have even less of both for lunch. Now, excuse me, I have some important things to do.”

             Regina left her standing there, speechless.

            An hour and another coffee later, Emma was sitting at one of the café’s stools, thinking about how she could get the woman to despise her a little less. She didn’t know why she needed to have Regina’s attention, but she wasn’t rested enough to think hard about anything. She needed sleep but she refused to leave the establishment before thinking of something to help her get the older woman to forgive her.

            “Excuse me, would you like another one or can I help you with something?”  A beautiful brunette girl with some red strands of hair wearing an apron asked her.

            “Actually, do you know the owner?”  Emma inquired as she pushed her empty cup of coffee to the side and leaned on the counter.

“Yes, Regina Mills. Although everybody else around here would refer to her as Ms. Mills.” answered the waitress as she leaned in Emma’s direction.  

“And why would you not call her Ms. Mills too, um…,” Emma questioned and waited for the barista to say her name.

            “Ruby. I’m Ruby Lucas. And, well… Let’s just say that our families were neighbors and we weren’t the best of friends but Regina has known me forever and she needed someone she knew for a couple of tasks. And here I am now, manager at the Storybrooke Café,” shrugged Ruby     

“Ok, Ruby… I’m Emma Swan and a need your help…”

            30 minutes later, Emma was still at the café.  She had relayed the encounter at the grocery store to Ruby.  Ruby could not contain her amusement at the whole ordeal and Emma’s obvious crush on Regina. After much debate, they decided on sending something sweet to Regina with her lunch along with an “I’m sorry” note. Ruby knew the thing at the supermarket wasn’t a big deal. The truth was Regina is not an easy person to get to know, and Emma could just have walked away from her thinking that she was a bitch. But instead Emma was here, asking for advice on how to get Regina’s forgiveness.

            When Emma left Storybrooke Books & Café, Ruby smiled knowingly and made a call to a friend. Precisely at 12:30, Regina’s lunch was being served; a small salad with slices of chicken breast. She was on a call while Ruby set everything for her on the conference table, and the younger brunette used the advantage of Regina’s distraction to leave everything there before exiting without a word.

            When Regina finally sat at the table, she frowned at a dessert and four mismatched flowers. She reached for the note that was attached to a flower.  It simply said “I’m sorry”. It wasn’t possible. She took another look at the flowers before reaching for them and smelling the petite bouquet. She shook her head and left the flowers and note where they were before, paying no attention to the small apple pie. As she ate her lunch she had to fight her thoughts when it would present her with images of the younger blonde, the insufferable hot blonde.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

 

            After lunch, Regina spent the next hours on the phone conversing with everyone from investors to her sister, who headed another branch of the company. She had completely forgotten about the flowers and dessert until after she picked up her son from school. As he got into the passenger’s seat he started eyeing the flowers curiously.

            “Mom… Are you dating someone?” he hesitantly asked.

            “Excuse me?” she asked confused, without taking her eyes from the road.

            “The flowers… Are you dating someone?” he insisted still studying the small bouquet.

            “No, I am not,” she answered, without adding any details.

            Henry sat silently playing with his phone.

            “Did someone do something bad to you?” Henry inquired when they reached home. His face was a mix of fear, hesitation and worry. Regina parked the car in the driveway before turning to Henry, confusion clouding her face.

            “Why are you asking me that, dear?”

            “Because each one of these flowers mean apology in some way,” he said as if he was stating the obvious, even though he spent the entire ride looking for it on Google.

            “Well, I’m not hurt as you can see. But someone apparently thinks they should apologize. When I’m sure of who it is and why I’ll let you know, ok?”

            “You promise?” he enthusiastically asked, genuinely excited for the prospect of his mother receiving flowers.

            “Yes, I promise, my little prince,” she smiled before giving him a peck on the forehead.

            They got out of the car and walked to the front door together, Henry ran to his room as soon as they passed through the threshold, probably excited to read some new comic book. Regina smiled at his antics, until she remembered the flowers in her hand and frowned at them. It couldn’t be Miss Swan, could it?

            That night when Regina caught herself thinking about the blonde again she decided to ask Ruby about the flowers and the pie. It certainly wasn’t Ms. Swan, she was sure about that. The only problem was the lingering feeling that maybe, just maybe, she wanted it to be Emma. A shiver ran down her spine when she said the name in her mind. Emma. She thought again and an almost smile came to her lips before she fought it and went to bed.

………

            Emma came in from her nightly run with music still blasting in her headphones.  She decided to use the stairs, hoping the last effort would make some difference. The sweat and reddened face told anyone that she gave it all her energy that night, but as Emma entered her apartment, shedding her sweaty white shirt, she felt that she should have ran more. She was tired but Regina fucking Mills was still there, on her mind. So she dropped her headphones to the floor but she could still hear the cords to “Wherever You Will Go” playing which made her even more frustrated about the whole crush thing.

            She grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge, gulping it as she would if her life depended on it, feeling some droplets running out of her mouth and down her neck along with her sweat. She drank half of the bottle before setting it on the countertop and sprawling her hands on the cool granite as she regained her breath. After a few moments she laughed, the kind of laugh you let escape when you know you’re being ridiculous, alone at home, thinking about the girl in the bar who never called, or the way your stupid boss treats you as you give your best at that shitty job. Emma Swan was undoubtedly infatuated with Regina Mills; and that was infuriating.

            So she took the water bottle and grabbed her shirt and headphones from the floor before walking to her bedroom. The bottle ended up on the night stand, beside the headphones. She walked to the en-suite and threw her sweaty clothes into the laundry basket under the sink. Emma jumped into the shower and opened the faucet, letting the cold water hit her back first, sending shivers down her spine. Anyone would think that thermal shock would distract anyone from anything besides shivering and cursing. But in that moment Emma’s mind just went to the hot Latina imagining how that olive skin would feel against her own paler skin, warming her.

………

            The next morning Regina went for her usual early jog, and she felt particularly relaxed after coming home to a warm shower and breakfast with Henry, who was almost giddy that morning. So she had a smile on her face when she walked through the café 10 minutes earlier than normal, going for the counter to get her coffee instead of waiting for Ruby to bring it to her office. The younger brunette prepared the scalding coffee before going to her boss and studying her face more carefully, expecting to see if the smile was an indication that the plan was successful.

            “Good morning, Regina.” Ruby had a wolfish smile on her lips.

            “Morning, Ms. Lucas.” Regina answered before taking a small sip of the beverage, feeling the comfort the hot liquid burning through her throat brought to her. Ruby rolled her eyes at the use of her last name. Regina rolled her eyes back before correcting herself. “Morning, Ruby.”

            Ruby smiled at that and reached for a recently baked cinnamon roll putting it in a small paper bag for her boss to have later at the silence of her office. She studied Regina’s expressions carefully, the sexy smile wasn’t present anymore but there was a faint spark on her eyes. Also, it wasn’t like Regina to have her coffee on the counter even though the coffee shop was still empty. Another unusual thing was the fact that Regina seemed to be avoiding bringing a subject up when the woman was known for her ability to say anything she wanted, when she wanted, in the most polite way.

            “Um…” Regina hesitated before turning to take a look around the coffee shop. Ruby looked at her expectantly when she turned back. “Yesterday, you brought flowers and an apple pie that I didn’t order along with an ‘I’m sorry’ note.”

            “Yes.” Ruby said as it was just a simple answer but Regina could feel she was just instigating her own boss.

            “Ruby…” the older brunette used her I’m-not-kidding-tone even though Ruby could sense the light amusement on her boss’s demeanor.

            “Regina.” Ruby had a wolfish smile following her answer, making the older lose her patience this time. She just huffed before walking to the double doors that led to the bookstore. But just before she could pass those doors Ruby told her what she wanted to know. “Emma wants to apologize.”

            Regina wanted it, she wanted to know who did it but she also wanted it to be Emma, even though she didn’t know why. So when she heard what she wanted she didn’t know what to do with that. She just kept walking to her office, as if Ruby hadn’t said a thing.

            The younger brunette sighed, knowing enough of the older one to be sure she shouldn’t press Regina further right now. The barista wiped the perfectly clean counter before finding something to work on the coffee shop before the first bunch of customers of the day.

………

            It wasn’t until 9:30 that Emma showed up at the coffee shop that day. She just went to sit on one of the stools and as soon as Ruby spotted her she just nodded and started to prepare Emma’s usual order of coffee. When the brunette came back with the order Emma had her head on the counter, shoulders hanging low on her sides.

            “Well, Regina wouldn’t appreciate anyone who sits like this, even less if this person acts like this in public places,” the manager almost whispered next to Emma.

            “Oh, Good morning, Ruby” Emma answered nervously after hearing Regina’s name and immediately grabbed her coffee, taking a small sip to test the temperature.

            “She was in a good mood earlier” Ruby commented with a smile dancing on her lips.

            “Was? What made her good mood go away?” Emma asked with an eye brow raised, a mix of suspicion and worry on her expression.

            “She asked me who sent the flowers and the note,” she simply answered.

            “Oh fuck… The woman hates me, doesn’t she?” Swan put her coffee to the side before she leaned over the counter once more, her face buried in her hands.

            “No!” Ruby rolled her eyes waiting for Emma to look at her. “Let’s just say I took my time before telling her who did it, and she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

            “What?” a confused Emma questioned.

            “I didn’t answer right away, so she went to the door. But before she could leave I told her you wanted to apologize.”

            “And what she did when you told her?” she anxiously inquired.

            “She went to her office,” Ruby shrugged.

            Emma just sighed and took a gulp of her coffee; hoping the burning liquid would help her make her mind between insisting and giving up.

            “That’s not a bad thing, Emma,” Ruby tried to explain.

            “How could that be a good thing, Ruby?” she lowered her head and sounded defeated.

            “Emma, listen, Regina is not an easy person, even less an open person. If this is just a crush and you don’t have the time to invest, go on with your life and leave Regina alone,” she finished and took a deep breath, making Emma finally look back up.

            “How am I supposed to know if this is a crush or something else, Ruby?” although she was exasperated she kept her voice low.

            “Go to work; go for a run; read a book. Give you some time to figure it out and do the same for Regina, she needs the time.”

            The blonde gave Ruby a tight smile before grabbing her coffee and leaving the coffee shop without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

 

            It was a week after their first encounter that they bumped into each other again; literally bumped into each other. Regina was on her way to the beans when a totally distracted Emma came out of nowhere using her phone. Now was Regina’s turn to hit the cart, unfortunately the other end was Emma’s thigh.

            “OH FUCK!” Emma dropped her phone again and by pure instinct brought both hands to her leg, as if it would help with the pain.

            “I’m sorry but you should look where you’re….” Regina started before taking a more careful look at the cursing blonde. “You should watch where you’re going and your language, Ms. Swan.”

            Regina frowned at the small laugh Emma gave as an answer between her shudders in pain.

            “What are you laughing at, Ms. Swan?”

            “Well, you’re the one smashing your cart against other people now,” Emma answered before bending to grab her phone and putting it in her jacket pocket. She limped to a shelf; leaning against it.

            “I’m not the one always on my phone, creating trouble to other people, darling,” the older woman wasn’t sure why she hadn’t walked away from the blonde yet; maybe she just felt sorry for the pain Emma was enduring.

            “I’m still not happy about that darling thing you have going on with me, but maybe I should start to think that I’m your darling, huh?” the smile Emma had on was a mix of charming and sarcasm.

            “You…,” Regina paused, unsure of what would be a good come-back at the other woman’s conceit. “You can think anything you want, Ms. Swan. That doesn’t make any of it the truth,” she finally answered before walking to another aisle.

            Emma took almost a minute to get herself together and get over the sharp pain on her thigh. She decided that Regina was worth another shot, at least. Yeah, just one more shot.

            She found the brunette again at the coffee aisle and smiled to herself without realizing. Regina could hear the slow and uneven steps someone was taking in her direction and turned around before the person got to her.

            “What do you want, Em-ma?” she sounded annoyed.

            “That makes me happy; we’re in a first-name-basis now!” Emma almost laughed at the face Regina pulled at that.

            “No, Ms. Swan, we’re not. It was just a mistake, a slip up.”

            “Why not? I like the way you say my name…,” Emma finished with a smile she would call charming. For Regina it just made something between anger and arousal boil inside her.

            “You really have some kind of filthy thoughts involving me, don’t you, Ms. Swan?”

            “Say Emma again, please,” the grin Emma had on her face wouldn’t go away, Regina was finally having some kind of conversation with her, she was even turning red, and for Emma it didn’t matter if the redness was from anger or arousal, the woman was reacting to her come-ons.

            “First the handcuffs now the way I say your name, you really want my lawyer to go after you for harassment,” the older woman stated looking at the blonde from head to toe and questioning herself what that woman had with leather jackets and why she herself was finding them sexy.

            “No, I just want to make up from our first accident and get some coffee together, and you could give me that now that you caused an accident yourself, don’t you think?” Emma pointed at her leg as if it was bleeding or missing, Regina just rolled her eyes at that.

            “I could, if I was the one who caused the accident, but once again you’re glued to your phone to the point of not realizing people around you. If you cause that many accidents walking while using your phone I really hope you never try to text and drive, darling,” Regina used her most sarcastic smile.

            “Ok, so I’ve caused two accidents between us in the course of what? Two weeks? I should totally buy you coffee, Ms. Mills.” Emma shrugged before putting her hands in her pockets.

             “What do I have to do for you to leave me alone, Swan? Why do you want that bad to have coffee with me if you think I’m an ass?”

            “I’m an idiot,” Emma said resolutely.

            “Finally something we can agree on,” Regina answered before looking away, trying to think of something to get her out of the situation. That woman made her even more hot-blooded.

            “I’m an idiot because I’ve been down this road before,” that was the first time Regina saw that kind of determination on the green eyes, Emma was serious but she couldn’t let the blonde think it was easy to win her over.

            “Irritating me? Yes, you have.”

            “No, some time ago, someone came into my life for a while and I thought we were gonna be something else. But this girl lied to me and I pushed her away because of that lie, she asked me to forgive her but I never did,” Regina’s eyes softened at that and Emma took a deep breath before continuing. “It took some time but I realized that was a mistake and I regretted the decision but then it was too late the damage was already done. I don’t wanna make the same mistake again, Regina.”

            “I’m sure that was hard for you, Ms. Swan. But I’m not following, what does it have to do with you being so insistent and annoying to me?” the brunette did her best at going back to her impassive self.

            “Because I really want to apologize even though it all started with accidents, I really want to get to know you better and I don’t even know why, but I feel like a should and I’m not giving up because of a misconception you have of me,” the blonde shrugged; explaining herself.

            “A misconception, is it?” Regina inquired.

            “Yes, you probably think I’m an unmindful police officer who loves to get in your way and irritate you,” her smile showed some type of embarrassment.

            “And why would that not be accurate, darling?” the brunette crossed her arms, as if that would show confidence but Emma knew it could be a sign of defensiveness.

            “Again with the ‘darling’ thing?” Emma smiled warmly, trying to get the woman to relax.

            “What do you have against the word ‘darling’, Ms. Swan?” Regina kept her arms crossed but a mischievous smile came to her features.

            “If I tell you would you go for a coffee with me?” that could be a smart move.

            “If you tell me and I think it is a good and true motive I’ll meet you for coffee at my store and I’ll leave as soon as I’m not interest in our conversation,” Regina succumbed.

            “Does that mean you’re interested in our conversation now?” Emma smirked.

            “Bye, Ms. Swan.” Regina started to walk out.

            “Hey! I was just kidding,” Emma tried but Regina kept walking. “My mother called me that every time she was going to lecture me or wanted me to use a dress, which sometimes were the same thing,” that got Regina to stop and turn to Emma, a chuckle escaping.

            “You can’t be serious, Ms. Swan.” Regina still had a smile crossing her face, and that was good even if it meant Emma being the joke.

            “Oh, I’m serious. The woman wouldn’t rest if I didn’t wear a dress for birthday parties, family meetings, school events…,” Emma rolled her eyes remembering her childhood. “Until I became a teenager and rebelled.”

            “What’s your problem with dresses?” Regina seemed more interest.

            “None. They look good on you, for instance. But I prefer a pair of jeans and a shirt,” and the blonde’s smirk was back. “I never saw you with sneakers and leggings, do you hate them just because you don’t always use them?”

            “I see your point.”

            “So, coffee tomorrow?” that made Regina smile disbelievingly and Emma chuckled in response.

            “Ok, Ms. Swan. Tomorrow at 3PM.” Regina did her best to sound defeated even if her demeanor showed otherwise.

            “3PM; I’ll be there.” Emma said walking backwards and hitting herself against the shelf before leaving the aisle embarrassed at her own clumsiness.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

            Around 2:45PM Emma entered the café; she went for the counter hoping to say hi to Ruby and calm her nerves before it was time for her date with Regina. She didn’t know if Regina would call it a date, but she certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity of calling it a date; she smirked at her own thoughts.

            “Emma!” the barista seemed happy to see her, just as she was to be back at that place.

            “Ruby, hey!” she walked to the counter just to say ‘hi’ but the brunette was already walking to her and unexpectedly welcomed her in a tight hug. Emma had confusion all over her face.

            “So, have you thought about what we talked about?” Ruby asked after letting Emma go.

            “Well, yeah… I actually met her at the supermarket again, and we had another accident, this time she ran into me,” she shrugged making Ruby chuckle at that.

            “Let me see… She ran into you and told you it was your fault, am I right?” She asked already knowing the answer.

            “Oh she totally said it was my fault, and maybe, just maybe, it was, but I’ll never tell her that, specially now...” Emma trailed off before chuckling.

            “What do you mean by specially now?” Ruby squint her eyes, as if she could read Emma’s mind.

            “Well, I convinced her to get some coffee with me, that’s why I’m here now… I’m meeting her in a couple of minutes.”

            “You what?!” The brunette laughed at that, making the blonde shrug again and let a smile play on her lips.

            “Yeah, I just opened myself to her and ‘kinda’ made her laugh, and here I am.”

            “You made her laugh?! How did you do it?” Ruby seemed surprised, terrified and pleased by that.

            “Yeah, I just… I don’t know, I was just being idiot me, and told her some stuff about my mother wanting me to be a little more girly,” Emma let her smile grow bigger remembering the way Regina’s laugh sounded; a shiver ran down her spine. Ruby noticed the dreamy eyes.

            “You really like her, don’t you?” the barista had a smile but she sounded very serious in her question.

            “I… Uh…,” the detective scratched the back of her neck, thinking about a way to not answer that making herself look like a foul. But the doors from the bookstore just opened letting the older brunette in, making both of the younger women look at her.

            “Ms. Swan,” Regina’s voice made Emma completely speechless, so she took her time looking at the older woman, she wanted to know everything about Regina, if she was Latina or Italian, how she took her coffee, what was her favorite food as a child, what made her so beautiful and molded her personality.

            Emma just nodded, acknowledging the greeting. She didn’t trust her voice now, not when Ruby just asked her about how she felt for this woman and said woman just showed up impeccably dressed, more beautiful than ever, to have coffee with her.  Regina walked to Emma until only the distance of a table separated them.

            “Should I just get you guys your usual?” Ruby asked breaking the silence. Emma cleared her throat.

            “Could I have a black coffee with 3 sugars and a bear-claw?” the blonde’s voice still sounded strained.

            “Sure, Emma… Ms. Mills?” Ruby turned to Regina.

            “I’ll have my usual coffee with a small slice of apple pie, Ms. Lucas, thank you.” Regina just turned and started walking to one of the only booths close to the windows.

            Emma felt a hand pushing her and before she knew what was happening she just stumbled almost all the way to the booth. She took her seat, across from Regina who had a neutral expression on, as if waiting for Emma to set the tone of the conversation.

            “So… Should we wait for the coffee or should I keep entertaining you with my childhood dilemmas?” the blonde asked after finding some courage to start a conversation. Regina let a small smile escape.

            “Oh, what you told me yesterday didn’t sound like a dilemma, darling.” She bit the inside of her cheek underlining the teasing tone.

            “Trust me, it was a dilemma. I had to choose between being comfortable while enjoying a party but having my mom looking at me like I kicked her or being in a stupid dress and making her happy,” she sighed, almost as if the doubt was still crushing her now. Regina laughed at that.

            “You can’t be serious about it being that bad,” Regina just shook her head at Emma’s puppy expression.

            “Oh I’m serious, woman. I don’t know what I would do if I ever get married, first I had to find a wife who wouldn’t mind if I didn’t wore a dress, then I’d have to deal with my mother being dramatic about me not wearing a dress,” Emma buried her face between her hands and sighed; making Regina chuckle.

            “Well, I bet you’d look good either in a dress or in a tuxedo, darling,” the brunette shrugged it off as if she wasn’t complimenting the blonde. That made Emma look at her again; a smirk on her face.

            “So you think I look good?” she inquired.

            “Never said you look good, simply stating that you would clean up well, it’s hard not to when you’re the bride; make-up and hair styling are marvelous things,” Regina smirked back, knowing it was a good answer.

            “I guess you’ll have to be at my wedding to be sure. Will you?” Emma crossed her arms and reclined on the booth.

            “Will I what? Marry you? I wouldn’t have the stomach for that, darling.” Regina chuckled at her own joke.

            “You think you’re funny, don’t you?” Emma bit back a laugh and tried to give Regina a stern look.

            “Oh no, I don’t think so, Ms. Swan. I _know_ I can be funny, but you’re the joke around here,” she smiled mischievously.

            “HA HA,” Emma answered sarcastically.

            “So, you’re gay…,” Regina trailed off.

            “Yes, yes I am. I thought it was clear after all my attempts to ask you for coffee and my comments about your body,” Emma said, and Regina could tell that although the blonde was comfortable with her sexuality she was tensely waiting for Regina’s response.

            “Oh, I thought you were just too polite to let me go without making up for your mistake,” Regina answered ironically.

            “No, I just couldn’t get my eyes off of you,” Emma laughed before realizing what she’d just said and blushing.

            All Regina could do was laugh out loud at that making Ruby freeze at mid-step. Emma was the first to see Ruby just beside their booth, and then when Regina finally looked at the barista Ruby was in shock looking at the smile that still played on Regina’s lips. The younger brunette just smiled knowingly and left both plates and cups on the table before leaving without a single word.

            “So you got your time with me, Ms. Swan. Make good use of it,” Regina simply stated before taking a sip of her coffee.

            “Let’s make a deal, you call me Emma and I’ll do my best at not making unnecessary comments about how beautiful you are or any comments that would be as cheesy as that,” Emma just watched the brunette put her beverage down and take her time before answering.

            “How about you refrain yourself from making those comments and we’ll stick to the plan of me listening to your childhood embarrassing stories, Ms. Swan,” Regina smiled at the end, but Emma knew at that moment that it would not be easy to put those walls down.

            “What makes you think I’m only talking about my childhood? Last Christmas she made me wear a pink dress by accidentally burning my trousers with the pressing iron. Did I say accidentally? I mean purposefully,” Emma shrugged before laughing sadly and finally taking a bite of her bear claw.

            “You can’t be serious,” Regina found herself smiling at the absurdity of Emma’s stories about her mother.

            “Oh, I am serious, believe me. The woman bought me that horrendous dress and then, when I said I would use the dress shirt and trousers that I’d bought, she offered to iron them for me. Minutes before our friends would be arriving she let me know about the burned trousers and helpfully offered the already pressed pink dress,” Emma rolled her eyes at the memory. Regina bit her lip to refrain herself from laughing out loud. “That’s not even the worst thing about that night; she had learned a rice recipe… with raisin. I love rice, I hate raisin. I only ate the turkey that night.” Emma sighed as if she was complaining about something life changing and Regina had to laugh at that.

            Emma filled their time together with unbelievable stories about an overbearing but too-sweet-to-be-hated mother and a not too feminine only daughter, every single one of them made Regina laugh. It started with the older woman biting back her smile and it ended with her almost crying from laughter when Emma told her about the time she cut her own hair so her mother wouldn’t be able to turn her into Pebbles Flintstone every morning before school. Every moment that passed with Regina smiling at her Emma would feel more and more motivated to make that woman laugh, it seemed impossible at first that the brunette could be even more beautiful than when Emma met her weeks ago, but Regina proved her wrong.

            “Oh my…” Regina started, still trying to catch her breath after laughing too much to her standards. “I still can’t believe a word you’re telling me, a mother couldn’t be that irritating and sweet at the same time, Emma.”

            “Oh, of this one I actually have proof,” Emma said, promptly picking her phone from the table and swiftly going through her gallery. She showed Regina a clearly scanned picture of a girl not older than 2 years old, her golden short hair braided in one single curl that parted in two on the top of her head. Regina wanted to laugh at that, - Emma’s hair really looked just like Pebbles’ – but she just melted at that cute little baby, the chubby cheeks making her heart feel warm. Then the brunette looked back at the older version of that baby, the version that studied her intently, and she lost herself in the blue eyes. None of them wanted to break the eye contact, but Regina’s phone decided to start blaring. So she sighed before taking a quick look at the screen, and answered the phone.

            “Hello, Henry,” she had a smile on her lips and decided to not look back at Emma, concentrating on the phone call. “Yes, I’ll be home shortly,” Emma fidgeted, not happy with the broken eye contact, even less happy about not being able to listen to the other end of the conversation. “Can we talk about it when I get home?” Emma decided she should just stare at her own phone so Regina wouldn’t realize she was paying attention to the call. “Ok, sweetie, I’ll see you soon.” The blonde took a couple of seconds to work on a neutral face before looking back at the brunette.

            “Your husband?” she asked and tried to smile. “I shouldn’t keep you any longer. I’ll take care of the bill, you go get ready to go home, Mr. Mills is waiting for you” although Emma tried to mask her discomfort by laughing Regina spent the last three hours studying the blonde and could tell that wasn’t her most sincere laugh, she was tense.

            “Mr. Mills is waiting; I should go home, yes... Thank you for the stories,” Regina started with a sighed, taking her eyes from Emma and looking at the street before turning to the blonde again, a soft smile in place. “You don’t have to worry about the bill; you just spent the afternoon with the owner, so there’s no bill.”

            “A week ago you said you wouldn’t let me have coffee for free in your café,” Emma shrugged and seemed to avoid Regina’s gaze.

            “I said a lot of things a week ago, Ms. Swan,” she smiled in a way Emma couldn’t decipher before walking to the doors that separated the café from the bookstore. She left a lost Emma behind, again.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

So when the next morning came, Emma Swan found herself running to try and push every thought of Regina Mills to the back of her mind. Then she laughed at the irony when the soft beat of a song she never paid much attention to started to play. Sam Hunt sang about how he met a girl that didn’t laugh at everything but when she did the planets swung around her. Next came the thoughts about the call again, she pushed for more speed, as if the burning of her legs muscles would make the other discomfort go away.

            But her body wouldn’t listen to her prayer and just led her unconsciously – or maybe conscious enough – to the café. She stopped, just like a car when you hit the break with both feet, and stared at the booth she sat just yesterday through the windows for a couple of minutes. Then a movement caught her eye, it was Ruby waving for her and signing for her to come in. She took a deep breath, and didn’t even think about her sweat covered body before putting away her earphones and pushing through the doors.

            Less than five minutes later she was sitting in her usual stool and Ruby was handing her a medium cup of coffee. She looked at the woman she knew she could start to see as a friend before sighing and taking a sip of her coffee.

            “What’s the matter?” Ruby asked leaning over the counter with her arms crossed.

            “What do you mean?” Emma asked back, clearly stalling, buying some time to find an answer.

            “I mean you had coffee with Regina yesterday and it all seemed fine when I left an hour after I served you guys. Now you look exhausted and not happy. You made her laugh at least a dozen times in the hour I spent watching you.” Ruby sounded confused and disappointed, making Emma sighed again before another sip of coffee to buy some more time.

            “It was nice… It really was! She’s even more beautiful when she smiles, Ruby!” the blonde buried her face in her hands and grunted, then looked back at her friend. “But you should have told me she was taken, Ruby! Not encourage me to pursue her!”

            “Wait, what? First, I never encouraged you; I said you should take your time thinking if you should try something there. Second, she told you she was taken?!” Now Emma was the confused one, head tilted slightly to the side, frowning at Ruby’s incredulous tone.

            “I won’t even argue with you on the first point, but she didn’t need to tell me that, her husband – the Henry-guy – called asking her to come home!” that Emma was frustrated was an understanding, but Ruby mad things worse by laughing hard at her face. “What’s your problem, Ruby?!”

            “You’re lucky; Henry-guy is here with us today, wanna meet him?” Ruby sounded breathless while trying not to laugh again at Emma.

            “Oh sure, what should I say to him? ‘Nice to meet you, I find your wife the most beautiful and stubborn woman that I ever met?!’” she only made Ruby start laughing again, and herself only madder. “You think that’s funny?!”

            “Just come with me Emma, you’ll like Henry,” the brunette just shook her head before going around the counter and almost dragging Emma by the hand to one of the booths close to the windows. The blonde ran her eyes over the booths trying to find out who (that?) Regina’s husband could be and was utterly confused when Ruby stopped by a boy, not older than 10, sitting alone.

            “Sweetheart, this is a friend of your mother,” the kid who had some drawings and a open book scattered on the table smiled brightly at the blonde, his chubby cheeks making it difficult for her to not smile back. “Emma, this is Henry…,” she said smiling before turning to Emma and whispering. “Regina’s a single mom.”

            “Are you Emma Swan?” he seemed happy to meet her.

            “Yeah, and you?” she couldn’t stop herself from smiling even more.

            “I’m Henry Mills, Regina’s son, it’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Swan!” the kid was definitely excited but Emma couldn’t understand how come he was this polite. Then she almost hit herself in the head; he was Regina’s son, of course the kid would be the most polite kid in the world.

            “Oh, Mr. Mills you should just call me Emma!” she laughed at her own silliness and that made the boy chuckle.

            “Ruby, can Emma sit with me while I have my cocoa?” he asked, his eyes pleading, his lips curving in a sweet smile.

            “Of course she can, sweetie,” Ruby didn’t even bother asking Emma if she had the time, just shoving the blonde into the booth. “I’ll bring hot cocoa for the both of you. Be right back,” and she left just like that, leaving Emma and Henry studying each other.

            “So, you had coffee with my mom yesterday…,” he started, his eyes squinting. “AND, sent her flowers last week telling her you were sorry…,” his tone of voice showing suspicion and how serious he took the matter.

            “So you know everything about me, is that it?” the blonde asked with a shy smile, her cheeks burning and red.

            “I know those two things, because my mom wouldn’t tell me about the coffee-date saying it was too late and I should go to bed,” he sighed, and she could tell he was bothered by not knowing.

            “Did she call it a date?” Emma leaned on the table, trying to pry the information, genuinely curious and excited.

            “She wouldn’t call it a date, but she came home smiling in a weird way and it looked like the girls in the movies when they go on dates,” he shrugged as if he wasn’t the most perceptive kid ever, at least in Emma’s experience with kids as an adult, which was close to none.

            “Well, Mr. Mills, I accidently bumped my supermarket kart into your mother’s and she wasn’t happy about it… Then I met her again here, by chance, and since then I’ve been trying to get her to have a coffee with me so I can apologize properly, but she wouldn’t accept it. Then we had another accident this week, this time she ran her kart into me – although I doubt she would tell the story like this –,” he chuckled at that and she smiled at him. “But I made her agree to have coffee with me by offering to tell her about my childhood disputes with my mom.”

            “You don’t like your mom?” he seemed confused at that.

            “I love my mom, she’s really sweet and she would love to have a boy as smart as you are… But she had a girl, and she hoped to dress her up, style her hair, play with dolls and eventually buy her heels. But I liked cars, pants and sneakers. So she wasn’t pleased about it, and although she loved me the way I was and I am, she can’t help but try to bring some pink into my life,” she smiled at him, her heart clenching with nostalgia, missing her mom and dad. As if he could sense that, he simply stood up and walked to her side of the booth, his little arms engulfing her in a tight hug.

            “I bet she loves you like crazy, Emma. Even though you’re not like she imagined, she’s your mom,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the planet, and she felt like he was a hundred years older and wiser than her. “I know that because my mom once took me to see the horses – and she really loves horses – but I couldn’t get close because I was afraid of them,” he frowned, as if remembering the day; before he looked back to her, right into her eyes. “And even though she would love for me to go riding with her - just like she always imagined - she was ok with me not liking them, and now she only goes when I have something else to do, and we’re both happy and we love each other.”

            “I bet she loves you like crazy, kid,” she smiled, her heart melting at the boy’s sweetness.

            “She does,” Ruby’s voice interrupted their moment, and the smell of the hot cocoa got them completely distracted. Both reached for the cups at the same time, then softly blew at the beverage trying to cool it before the first tentative sip.

            Ruby spent the rest of the morning watching both of them getting to know each other. Henry showed Emma his notes, drawings and a book; she showed him some things on her phone, even putting her earphones on him to show a video that made him laugh. It was around 11am when Emma had to go home and get ready for a shift, and Ruby found it cute the way she hugged Henry good bye and came to pay for the beverages, letting the brunette know that she would be leaving and the kid was alone again.

            Right before noon Ruby got Henry and Regina’s lunch and called him so they could go up to Regina’s office together. When they entered she was still on a phone call but she greeted Henry with a big smile and open arms; and Ruby with a thank you nod and a small smile once she had her child in her arms.

            10 minutes later and mother and son were sitting at her conference table starting their lunch. Regina was taking a sip of water when Henry decided it was time to speak.

            “I met Emma today!” a mix of excitement and challenge.

            “You what?” Regina could have spitted all the water but as the refined woman she was she swallowed before asking him.

            “I met Emma, I like her. She had cocoa with me and told me why she had to say she was sorry. You should forgive her, mom, it was an accident,” he talked while cutting his small well done steak in pieces.

            “Oh, she told you it was an accident, right? Did she tell you she was playing with her phone when it happened?” she asked before taking a bite of her salad.

            “Yes, she told her mother was bothering her about groceries and stuff,” he took a grape tomato with his fingers and ate it pleased with the taste. Regina pointedly stared at him for eating like this earning a mumbled “I’m sorry”.

            “Oh really?” she thought about that for a moment, staring at her plate; then looked back at her son. “And did you enjoy your time with Emma?”

            “I really did…” he kept his eyes on his plate, trying to get a smiley face out of his salad. Until he looked at Regina, right into her eyes and smiled. “You enjoyed your time with her too, right mom?”

            “I…,” she tried to start, then paused for a deep breath and decided to take another sip of her water; thinking deeply about the answer. “I… I really did,” she finished almost like a whisper, but Henry heard and his smile grew bigger, making his mother unconsciously smile too.


	7. CHAPTER SEVEN

            A week later after Henry and Emma’s first encounter the boy was sitting in the living room with his mother; she had her phone in her hands checking her email account while he was tucked between her legs with a PSP in his hands trying to learn the moves in one of the older versions of FIFA. He cheered when he scored in the game, then turned to explain the whole move to Regina; she took her glasses off and smiled at him even if she didn’t understand a word about soccer. For some time she was just happy to see Henry so excited about something, she even tuned his voice out for a couple of seconds until…

            “Mom? Could I?!” he inquired, a special spark in his eyes making her keep smiling even though she didn’t know what is that about.

            “I’m sorry, honey, what did you ask?” she used her hand to take a lock of hair away from his eyes before giving him her full attention.

            “I said I would really like to try playing soccer for real, maybe in school or the neighborhood team. Would you let me try out?” then he was using his puppy eyes at her, making her chuckle.

            “Well, I’m going to fit it in our schedule somehow, if makes you happy. You should practice a sport, yes. But from where did this sudden interest for soccer come?” at that he turned off the portable console then shifted fully, and sat on her lap, his legs around each side of his mother’s torso, her arms instinctively went around him.

            “Emma showed me some pictures of her in the soccer team in high-school and even a couple of her playing with the other detectives. She said I should try and download FIFA or watch some matches on TV and see if I could like it. So I downloaded FIFA and I looked for the school and neighborhood teams, I have a couple of months to practice before trying out,” he shrugged at the end but she still had Emma’s name going around and around her head, frozen with her arms around her son.

            “Emma? You’ve been talking to Ms. Swan?” she gulped after her question; she couldn’t make herself relax to talk her even a week later after their coffee date. Emma never showed up again, and she felt hurt even though she didn’t want that. Even though she told herself multiple times it was just a one-time thing, just some coffee between strangers.

            “Yeah, she gave me her number, but she can’t answer me during day hours this week. It sucks,” he pouted and even crosses his arms.

            “Language, Henry Daniel Mills,” she chastised. Regina decided to ignore all the questions about why Emma would give him her number and never show up again, or why didn’t Emma ask her number. Instead she asked, “Why can’t she answer you during day hours?”

            “She said something about work and vacation, but I didn’t understand much of it. I guess it’s also nice to wake up to her answer. Sometimes she sends me videos her mother kept of her, to illustrate some of the moves she’s talking about,” he seemed happy to get the attention from the blonde, and his mother felt uncomfortable for wanting the blonde’s attention for her as well.

            “And you only talk about soccer?” she chose to try and get as much information as she could for her son, even though she shouldn’t even be thing about gathering more information about the blonde.

            “Well, we talk about books and video games as well. Oh, and she asks about you sometimes, how are you, if you’re working too much and not smiling enough, then she asks me to take care of you,” he shrugs and she realizes he often does that when saying things he doesn’t see the importance of while they are really important for adults.

            “She asks about me?” she shouldn’t be excited about that, and she shouldn’t show her excitement in her voice, so she kept it calm. She should just monitor their talks because that’s what mothers do.

            “Yup,” he simply answered before getting out of her lap, he saw the confusion on her expression and explained smiling, “I’m going to take my shower before dinner. You’re gonna make a risotto, right?”

            “Oh… yes, sweetie. Go. I’ll take care of dinner, but it might take a little while,” she replied, still lost in her thoughts while he nodded and headed for the stairs.

            She spent some time just sitting in the living room, staring at nowhere specific and trying to figure Emma Swan out. The woman would insist in having coffee with her, then make her laugh all through the date, meet her son the next date, then give him her number, and never show up again while talking to him every day apparently. It didn’t make sense. Regina was just about to get up and go prepare dinner when a phone began to ring, she looked at her phone but the screen was black, then she noticed Henry’s phone was vibrating on the coffee table’s surface, a beautiful and smiling blonde on the screen.

            “Ms. Swan,” she answered the call, the coldness on her voice making herself shiver.

            “R-Regina, hi!” the blonde stammered.

            “What do you want, Ms. Swan,” she replied, she wanted nothing more than to talk to the blonde and have her explain everything, but all she managed then was to be ice cold.

            “I-uh… I, actually, was going to ask Henry to talk to you…,” she started and expected a response, when nothing came she decided she should go on, “I would like to take him to a special exhibition of the first Harry Potter movie this week, and I thought I should ask for your permission and your company as well…?” the statement sounded like a question, and Emma cleared her throat when she finished, as if it would made it easier to breathe.

            “And why would you like to take my son out, Ms. Swan? And why should I go anywhere with you OR let my son go anywhere with you?” Regina had Henry’s phone clutched in her hand, and her hand was turning white thanks to the grip she had on the device.

            “I’ve been talking to him this week, and he said he liked the books but never got to watch the movies at the theaters, so I thought I could take him? I… I would enjoy your company, if you came too. Look, I know I’m not your favorite person in the world, Regina. But I’m a cop, Henry would be safe with me, and I just wanna take an awesome kid to do something he would enjoy,” she shrugged then remembered that Regina couldn’t see it and rolled her eyes at herself.

            “It still doesn’t explain why my son, Ms. Swan,” she tried to calm her breathing, every second on the phone with the blonde turned her into a more nervous mess.

            “Mom! Is it Emma? You’re talking to Emma?!” the voice came from behind Regina, and Emma could hear it through the phone as well, the blonde smiled and the brunette sighed.


	8. CHAPTER 8

            So two days later, Emma Swan is standing at the front door of the Mills’ house. She was there for at least 10 minutes just admiring the beautiful house, and thinking it definitely fitted the brunette. Inside the house there was a more than excited Henry Mills, wearing some dark jeans, a button up shirt covered by a maroon sweater, a pair of casual sneakers on waiting for his friend, as he liked to call Emma. His mother had a simple long sleeved black dress with a square neckline on; she was using these last minutes before letting her son go out with the blonde to remind herself of why she was letting Henry go with Emma. She barely remembered all the arguments the boy and the woman used two days ago to convince her. All that’s on her mind are Henry’s excitement and the blonde’s voice calmly trying to make her go with them as well.

            At the end of the call, that day, Emma and Henry had convinced Regina to let him go to the movies with the blonde. But a disappointed Emma Swan and a frustrated Regina Mills hadn’t got to an agreement about the brunette accompanying them, Regina said she would use the time to catch up on some reading she was dying to do.

            “Regina, hey,” Emma smiled and Regina didn’t even remember when the doorbell rang or how she got there and opened the door.

            “Ms. Swan,” she had decided to keep her words to a minimum, making it easier on her.

            “You… You look beautiful! You’ve decided to come with us?” the blonde seemed happy at that possibility.

            “Uh…” Regina almost smiled, so she took a couple of seconds to process and to go back to her cold persona. “Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Swan. But, no, I’m not going with you.”

            “Emma!” they both heard the excited voice coming from behind Regina before a little boy ran into Emma’s body, hugging her tightly.

            Regina took in the scene before her; the blonde had crouched to hug Henry fully. Emma smiled while holding Henry tightly against her, Regina couldn’t see her boy’s face but she was certain he was grinning as well. She didn’t realize how much time she spent there just looking at them; they took a couple of minutes just to talk to each other using the matching height. Then Emma stood up and stared at Regina for a second or two before she started talking again.

            “So you’re sure you’re not coming…,” she seemed disappointed but Regina wouldn’t fall for that, she couldn’t.

            “Yes, I’m sure. He already had dinner, so it should be ok for him to have some popcorn but not too much. You have to bring him back around 9pm. Please, don’t be late. It’s his bedtime, Ms. Swan.”

            “Sure, Ms. Mills. Henry will be back at 9pm. I don’t want to make you late, enjoy your date,” Emma stated coldly before taking Henry’s hand and walking to her car leaving a confused Regina behind.

            A couple of minutes later in the car Henry sat at the backseat staring at Emma through the rear mirror, she had stared at the street since they left his house, and she seemed concentrated, not happy. He used the one time she looked at him through the same mirror to ask.

            “Why are you upset, Emma?” it was a fair question, she didn’t open her mouth for the time they had been in the car and she didn’t want to lie but she had to.

            “Oh, kid… I’m… I’m not upset! I’m just, uh, thinking about the movie!” she tried.

            “Why do you tell my mom to enjoy her date?” he crossed his arms then used one to support the other while he hold his chin with the other hand.

            “She was pretty and well dressed, I guess I just… I, uh… She deserves to have a nice date, don’t you think?” if she wasn’t an adult she probably would be sweating at how nervous she was.

            “No, silly!” Henry laughed at her, “that were her stay-at-home clothes.”

            “Wait, what?!” She was confused, and impressed.

            “Yeah, my mom just likes to dress well even if she’s staying at home,” he shrugged, then continued as if they hadn’t talk about anything, “what were you thinking about the movie?!”

…

            Then at 8:50 the doorbell at the Mills’ rang again, and Regina Mills was met with a too-cute-to-be-true sleep Henry Mills in the arms of a shy Emma Swan. She motioned to take her child but Emma just shook her head and muttered something about carrying him so he wouldn’t wake up. So Regina just leaded Emma up the stairs to Henry’s room, where the brunette pull the covers and the blonde put him to bed and let Regina take his shoes off. They left silently when he was tucked in and quietly made their way downstairs again. Emma started to walk to the front door when Regina cleared her throat.

            “Would you like a cup of coffee, Ms. Swan?” the brunette didn’t know where it came from but she just justified it to herself saying it was the polite thing to do.

            “Is it as good as it is in your coffee shop, Ms. Mills?” the blonde stared at the other woman, and put her hand into the back pockets of her jeans.

            “I’ll let you be the judge of that…,” Regina stated before walking to what Emma assumed it was the kitchen.

            Silence made them company while Regina worked on her expensive-looking coffee-maker. Emma had sat on a stool at the kitchen island and just kept her eyes trained on the brunette, watching her every move. She felt an idiot for assuming the woman was going on a date and for the way she acted when she thought that.

            “You gave your number to my son, but never looked for my number after all those attempts at taking me for a coffee,” Regina started just after she served each of them a mug of hot black coffee, she watched as the blonde put some – too much in her opinion – sugar into her coffee mug.

            “I had a nice chat with the kid the day after we met for coffee, so I gave him my number…,” she began before taking a small sip of coffee, then she just lowered her head and sighed before raising it to look Regina in the eyes, “I never asked for your number because I thought that Mr. Mills on the phone was married to you.”

            “I figured that,” Regina said after taking a sip at her own coffee, “But you met my son the next day, I’m sure Ms. Lucas and her big mouth told you that I’m a single mother,” the brunette didn’t know how much longer she would be able to hold the blonde’s gaze, she was starting to feel weak under that stare.

            “She did, and I spent a wonderful time with Henry that day then I had to go on a sequence of long shifts before I could take some accrued vacation time…,” the blonde sighed and kept studying the brunette as if trying to decipher her, “I wanted to see you again so bad, but I didn’t want to seem pretentious or clueless by just asking Henry for your number. I thought I could come by the café and wait until you had some time to see me. Then the whole Harry Potter special came and I thought I could take you both to watch it with me, I’m just… the idiot, you know?”

            “Oh, yes I do, Ms. Swan. The idiot indeed,” Regina says before smiling for a second, just to turn and look away at the next, “You don’t ask for my phone number but you keep asking him about me and my moods, right?”

            “Uh…I-uh… Hum…,” Emma looked at her coffee trying to find a answer for that, but all she managed was to put a little more sugar to buy some time, that made Regina chuckle.

            “So, you’re brave enough to talk to my son, but not brave enough to talk to me anymore?” Regina crossed her arms and leaned on the kitchen island, that made Emma look at her again.

            “There was a lot of pep talk before I met you for coffee, and there probably would be a lot of pep talk before I showed up at the café looking for you again…,” she smiled shyly and shrugged, “but talking to Henry was so easy… You’re kid is so smart and caring, and I probably don’t have to tell you how curious he is,” they both laughed at that, “You’ve done great… He… He asked about us that first day, and time and time again he would ask me about what I feel for you… And I felt safe to tell him.”

            “And what did you…,” Regina paused, she didn’t know if she should ask that, if she really wanted to know what Emma felt now. The blonde looked tense too, so the brunette took a deep breath before smiling, “what did you do to make him this crazy about soccer?”

            “Well, I asked him what sports did he like to practice in school, and he told me he “sucked” at sports”, Emma made air quotes and chuckled at the face Regina made at the use of the word, “and then I told him that I used to be like him until I tried to play soccer, my dad helped me and I became part of the team. I even showed him some pictures and sent him a couple of videos.”

            “Yes, he told me about the videos you use to “illustrate the moves you’re talking about”,” Regina smiled at the way her son explained it to her and that made Emma smile as well, “but I hope you know Henry won’t have a father to help him with that and I’m not the most coordinated person when it comes to team sports,” she became serious again.

            “I imagined that, yes. I actually was going to ask you to let me take him to the park and help him prepare for the try outs. He told me he still has some time before them, I thought I could help him with the basics,” Emma studied Regina’s reaction to that while Regina tried to gather if Emma was being serious about it.

            “You want to help Henry with his try outs for the soccer team?” Regina asked although Emma had just said that, the blonde nodded in response, seriousness clear on her features, “Why would you want that, Ms. Swan?”

            “Because… Look, clearly I’m attracted to you, like really attracted to you, you’re stunning,” that made Regina blush and clear her throat, Emma smiled before continuing, “But Henry is special, I don’t know. I would really like to spend some time with him, especially if I’m helping him with something…,” she fidgeted, waiting for a response.

            “Emma, Henry is 10, and I don’t know if you have a child in your life, but you can’t just show up then go away from his life without any explanation,” she started then paused for a deep breath before going on, “Clearly I’m attracted to you, or I wouldn’t have agreed to meet you for coffee and you know that, I could’ve just walk away from you or called for security if you were one of those assholes,” Emma’s eyebrows shot up at the cursing, “I could date you without involving Henry and keep him safe, but now he’s already involved and I don’t want him to get hurt.”

            “You called me Emma,” the blonde smiled widely making the brunette roll her eyes. “I know all of that, but when Ruby introduced him to me I didn’t realize I would feel the way I do about your kid, it was amazing how I would get home in the middle of the night to try and get some sleep and his texts would made me smile and take some time looking for pictures and videos to send to him,” she was serious again, trying to show Regina she meant everything she just said, “I could really like you Regina, like you a lot. But I already like Henry a lot, and I don’t want to hurt him.”

            They just gazed at each other for some seconds. Emma seriously staring at Regina waiting for any kind of reaction, even the worst, while Regina fought her fears and rational side. The brunette knew it could be so good to Henry that it could hurt him very badly. The blonde was certain that she wanted to be with the kid as much as she wanted to be with his mother, she could fall in love with Regina, but she was already falling for the chubby boy.

            “I think I should go, and you should think about it. I’m serious about helping Henry,” she said before taking a card from her pocket and putting it on the kitchen island, “you should call me and let me know if you would let him come with me to the park to practice, and we could also figure things out when it comes to us,” she stood up after that and started heading for the door.

            Regina followed, as if there were an invisible line connecting them, making her move after Emma.

            “I think you both should start here, I would feel safer if something happened and he was just at our backyard,” the brunette said before going for the doorknob and opening the front door for the blonde.

            “Sure, just let me know when he’s free and I’ll come, I’m on vacation after all,” the blonde said while stepping out of the house, and then she turned to watch Regina.

            “I’ll let you know. Good night, Em-ma,” Regina said making Emma shiver, the older woman’s look undecipherable.

            So the detective decided for a bold move and took a step forward to kiss the brunette slowly. Regina let Emma take control and kissed her back, but just as fast as the contact came it was gone.

            “Good night, Regina,” Emma whispered and just like that she was heading for her car. 


	9. CHAPTER NINE

            Two days later, around 7:30am Emma Swan’s phone started ringing insistently although she tried her best to ignore it. The second time it started ringing Emma prepared herself to take it from the dock charger on her night stand, but when she reached for the phone it immediately stopped making her groan. She took it from the charger anyway and stared at the screen although her eyes were still foggy from sleeping. She called the unknown number back but stayed sprawled in bed.

            “Good morning, Ms. Swan,” the owner of the unknown number picked up, the sound of her voice making Emma shiver.

            “Regina, hi!” Emma instantly sat up and pulled the covers off, “good morning!”

            “Did I wake you up?” Regina didn’t sound the least worried about that, she even had a smile in her voice.

            “What? No, no… I was… Reading, yeah,” the blonde almost hit her own head at that, leave it for her to tell the bookshop owner that you wake up before 8am to read when you sleep at least until 10am.

            “Oh, and what were you reading?” the brunette asked and the blonde could sense it was a test, maybe she should say she was reading Tolstói, but instead…

            “Hum… I… I was reading one of the Harry Potter books, you know, to talk with Henry about them,” she actually hit herself in the head for that one.

            “Harry Potter. Sure. I’m calling you about Henry’s practice, I was wondering if you would like to come for breakfast and start today at my backyard,” Emma then heard a loud bang.

            “Regina, you okay?!” the blonde asked worried.

            “Yeah… yes, I’m fine, Emma. I just dropped a pan, I’m already making breakfast,” the lightness of her voice made Emma relax again.

            “So, how much time would I have if I agree to start on my most important job ever today?” Once more she made Regina smile.

  …

            An hour after the call Emma was parked in front of the majestic white house again. She rushed for the front door, and took a couple of deep breaths before ringing the bell. Seconds later she was greeted by an impeccably, although simply, dressed Regina. Emma took her time looking at the woman dressed in dark tight jeans and a light thin sweater. When their eyes finally met Regina had a mischievous smile dancing on her lips, while Emma blushed for being caught.

            “Good morning once again, Ms. Swan,” Regina took a step back letting Emma into the house.

            “It will be a good morning again when you call me Em-ma,” Emma said in her best impersonation of Regina once she was in the foyer; that made Regina laugh.

            “Then come into the kitchen, Em-ma, I have a moody son that’s upset for spending the day home,” the brunette took the blonde’s hand guiding her into the kitchen even though she’d been there already.

            “He doesn’t know…?”

            “I thought you should be the one to tell him,” Regina answered even though she wasn’t sure if it was an affirmation or a question. Then she let go of Emma before passing the kitchen’s threshold, making the blonde miss the touch.

            The first thing that hit Emma was the smell of freshly fried bacon, and recently brewed coffee. Then she noticed a grouchy child holding his head while forking a piece of bacon.

            “I would never be so upset over my mama making me some bacon and pancakes, Mr. Mills,” she said the smile evident on her voice, Henry instantly looking for her and jumping from the stool. Emma could feel Regina’s eyes on them when the kid ran for her, but she was too distracted by the tight hug to do anything but hold him tighter and smile.

            “Emma! I can’t believe you’re here! Are you having breakfast with us?” He said before letting her go and turning to his mother, “Mom, please, can Emma have breakfast with us?!”

            Both women laughed at the kid’s excitement. Regina motioned for them to have a sit at the counter while she went to get the pancakes from near the oven to put them on the counter next to them.

            “Actually, your mother invited me for breakfast and…” Emma trailed off while she watched Regina take a seat at Henry’s other side. The brunette then extended her arm as if asking for Emma’s plate, the blonde and the boy just watched as Regina served her pancakes, bacon and eggs. “She thinks we could start practicing soccer today, that’s why we’re staying home… I mean, you. That’s why you’re staying home,” she cleared her throat, then mumbled her thanks before digging into the plate, stuffing her mouth with food instead of her foot.

            The blonde’s slip up made both brunettes smile. They both let it go to not further embarrass Emma. Henry side hugged his mother as a way of thanking her for having the blonde for breakfast and for letting them practice that Sunday. Then they ate in silence, until Regina reached for Emma’s mug and poured her some hot coffee, receiving a smile in return and giving one of her own. Both smiling women didn’t go unnoticed by the kid in the middle.

…

            An hour later, after Emma explained the basic rules to Henry from the beginning and answered some of his questions, they started passing the ball. They would try to make it a sequence without letting the ball escape, then the blonde would make a more elaborated move, the kid would be awed at that and then would try for a more difficult move of his own, letting the ball escape almost every time. They forgot about the world surrounding them and didn’t even notice the brunette at the back porch pretending to read a book. They went like that for almost an hour and a half when the blonde asked for mercy and let herself fall on the grass making the Henry laugh at her before succumbing as well.

            “So, do you like it, kid?” Emma asked slightly out of breath while staring at the sky.

            “Soccer? Yeah, I think I really do,” he said and she turned her head to watch his tousled hair over his forehead and a smile glued to his face.

            “So, do you think we could make it a thing? I could meet you only once a week for practice when I’m working, but now that I’m in vacation we could have more meetings, call it an intensive course,” she said before turning back to the skies.

            “Yeah, I would like that. Do you think you could make it every Sunday breakfast?” he asked excitedly.

            “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose on your mother’s hospitality. Maybe I could meet you after breakfast, and take you to the park, I don’t know, give your mother some space…” she trailed off, she wasn’t sure why she was saying those things when really she wanted to spend as much time as possible with the older woman as well.

            “No… Emma… You have to come for breakfast, mom likes having you here and I like it too!,” he said after kneeling beside her and hovering over her face to demonstrate how serious he was about that.

            “Whoa, kid… Hold on there, it’s ok, I liked having breakfast with you too, but you can’t talk for your mother, ok?” she replied while straightening herself on her arms as if it would help her on making him understand.

            “I’m not… I mean, I am talking for her… But it’s impossible not to notice her smile when she’s with you. You see that too, right Emma? You notice her smile, right?” he had pleading eyes and she was confused by the deepness she could see in them.

            “Of course I notice your mother’s smile, Henry… It’s… It would be impossible to not notice that smile…” she almost lost herself thinking back to all the times she saw Regina smiling and heard her laughing, and that made Henry smile and relax a little bit, “But it doesn’t mean I’m the cause to that smile, kid, it’s…” she sighed and shook her head.

            “Complicated, yeah, I know… Everything for you adults is complicated, so you should let me help,” he stood up and just as Emma tried to get up as well they were interrupted.

            “What should you help Emma with, sweetheart?” Regina asked before giving each one of them a glass of juice. Henry took a gulp before smiling at his mother while Emma continued on the grass, frozen in place with the accepted glass in her hand.

            “Emma wants to take you for lunch, mom,” he said before taking another large gulp from his glass and giving it back to his mother, “I have to pee,” then he ran into the house.

            The silence ate them inside out after Henry left, and it took Emma a couple of minutes before she could get herself to stand back up. She never took her eyes from Regina, while the brunette looked at anywhere but the blonde’s eyes.

            “I… Regina… What Henry said…,” Emma started although she wasn’t sure where to start.

            “It’s ok, Ms. Swan… He’s a kid, he reads more fairy tales then he should. You don’t have to worry about that…,” Regina interfered before Emma could continue; a tight smile on her lips.

            “No! I mean, no. I mean, it’s true. I wanna take you for lunch, or dinner, or even breakfast. I would like to have another coffee with you…,” the blonde worked out with all the courage she had left. Then she cleared her throat as if it would help her clear her thoughts, as if it would make it easier to wait for Regina’s response to that.

            “I’m not sure I have the time for that, Ms. Swan. I’m a very busy woman between my work and my son,” the brunette said before starting to walk back to the house.

            “Regina, wait,” Emma saw herself reaching for the older woman’s arm one more time, just like at their first encounter at the bookstore, that earned her another glare at their joined hands, this time wouldn’t let it get to her, so she took another step forward, “I’m sure you’re a busy woman, I admire that, how you have your own business but is still clearly devoted to your son… He deserves that,” that made Regina relax a tiny bit, but she still didn’t seem comfortable with the proximity.

            “Do you have to hold me while we have this conversation, Ms. Swan?” anyone could feel the coldness in her voice, and it almost made Emma take a step back, but instead she took one more forward, invading the other woman’s personal space, both losing themselves in each other’s eyes.

            “That’s the point… You see, Regina, I would like to hold you countless times, in an infinity of situations,” Regina diverted her eyes at that, making Emma take a step to the side trying to make the brunette lock their eyes once again, “I would love to have coffee with you, and to cook for you… I would die for cuddling with you… I… could make you lunch, I imagine you can take at least half an hour to have lunch during the week… What do you say? I’m no chef but my mother didn’t let me leave home without learning a thing or two…”

            “No, Emma… The point is not what would you like to do…,” Regina replied, and her voice was stone cold, “Unfortunately you met my son before you could bed me, so now you can’t have what you want,” she continued, harshness ever-present, “because I have a son to care for. I wouldn’t mind, Ms. Swan, I wouldn’t mind being one of your flings if my son wasn’t involved. But he seems to adore you even though you two met not that long ago. And now…”

           “You’re getting me wrong, again…,” Emma sounded almost defeated.

            “Then explain to me, because I don’t seem to understand you that well,” Regina tried pulling her arm so she could crossed both arms in front of her chest, but that only made Emma reach for her free hand. The blonde even parted her own legs a bit so she could make Regina stare at her eyes without having to look up.

            “I don’t want to bed you, I mean…”

            “Could you refrain from using that much “I mean” in the middle of your sentences? I’m sure you can think things through before saying them,” Regina said annoyed, and that made Emma smile before replying.

            “I don’t wanna bed you, I wish that we can go there at some point, of course. But I enjoy spending time with both of you, you and Henry, together or apart. I like him just as much as I like you, maybe you intrigued me first, but he had my heart the moment he smiled at me, Regina. I don’t wanna hurt him just as I don’t wanna hurt you,” Emma’s pleading eyes reminded Regina of her son’s. She felt her heart giving in even though her mind reminded her of every single time she saw love being weakness.

            “Ms. Swan…,” Emma rolled her eyes at that and it made Regina smile, “Emma… I can’t.”

            “I’m not asking you to marry me yet, come on, it’s just lunch!” the blonde tightened her grip on the brunette’s hands for a second as if it would convince her.

            “What do you mean by not asking me to marry you YET?!” Emma never saw Regina’s eyes so wide and startled.

            “Just let me cook for you, woman!” Emma could almost laugh at Regina’s expression and her difficulty with putting her answer in words.

            “Emma, you’re making lunch?! Yes!!” Henry answered before his mother could come up with an answer, “could we have your mother’s famous recipe you told me about?” He started pulling them into the house babbling about Mrs. Swan’s pasta with broccoli recipe, making Emma smile and his mother act robotically; one foot after the other. He wanted to help with lunch but it only lasted until they had sorted out the ingredients and he asked to go play some video games before lunch, which his mother agreed without giving it a second though, she was too distracted by the conversation she had with Emma earlier.

            So the blonde started working in silence, giving Regina the time she needed. She had every ingredient cut and separated before she put the broccoli into boiling water to cook. Then she washed her hands and spent a good minute pep talking herself before she stopped in front of Regina, at the other side of the counter. She had to support herself with her hands sprawled on the counter and sighed to have Regina raise her eyes and meet hers.

            “Did I push too much?” Emma asked almost in a whisper, she was ashamed to have to ask that.

            “No… Emma...,” it was Regina’s turn to sigh, “I… I grew up with my mother telling love is weakness and then went through hers and my father’s divorce,” she crossed her arms over the counter seeking for protection, “I spent years of my life watching them fight over me and anything else for that matter just for them to find love in each other again and act like they never fought, by then I was too damaged to think that relationships could be anything but hurt,” she confessed.

            Emma studied the other woman’s features, the confusion and the hurt that passed through her eyes, her crossed arms as a shield to her chest. That moved Emma around the counter, her steps getting slower as she approached Regina. She reached for one of the brunette’s hands without pulling it out of its nest; she just let her own hand over it.

            “You don’t have to let me in, even though that’s what I want. I want to show you that love is patient and kind, that I can take care of you, and that I can be there for Henry too. I know it’s crazy, that we met under crazy circumstances and that you hated me first…” she started seriously only to get interrupted.

            “I didn’t hate you…,” that made both of them laugh, “you annoyed me, you still do. But I didn’t hate you, and I still don’t,” Regina shrugged, so unlike herself.

            “So, I annoyed you at first, and apparently still am annoying. Once more, you don’t have to let me in, you really don’t. But I really wish you can let me in, Regina… I mean no harm; I don’t intend to hurt you in any way,” the blonde took one more step forward and that made the brunette turn on the stool, now facing her. Emma took that as an invitation and used both hands to hold Regina’s face, her thumbs lightly caressing the older woman’s cheeks; their eyes never leaving each others.

            “Why, Emma? Why do you want these things with me?” she asked, then closed her eyes and sighed.

            “I’m not sure, but it’s like you have a magnet that pulls me toward you, and I don’t even care if spend the rest of my life being pulled to you,” Emma explained and took another step closer to which Regina responded by opening her eyes and parting her legs so that Emma could stand between them, “so, please, let me in…”

            “MOM! EMMA! Is lunch ready?!” Henry yelled from the living room making Regina get up from the stool and take a couple of steps from Emma. Emma just sighed defeated, while Regina cleared her throat and straightened her clothes.

            “Another 20 minutes and you can help me set the table, Henry,” Emma answered before she went back to work. She took the broccoli pan from the stove and poured the water from it in the sink before putting the broccoli on a cutting board; then started working on the white sauce. Regina stared at Emma’s back for some seconds before deciding on making some orange juice for them. They worked in silence for at least 10 minutes.

            “Emma,” Regina whispered and Emma turned to see her sat again by the counter.

            “Yeah…”

            “We will talk later, ok?” she asked and Emma shrugged before giving her a small smile and a nod. She could wait.

            After that they continued to work, exchanging glances and smiles. 15 minutes later Henry came into the kitchen and Emma sent both mother and son to set the table while she finished the dish. Lunch was filled with light talk about Henry’s skills and practice dates, they even talked about Harry Potter and how Regina should watch the movies with them, and they would even watch the first one again so she could understand the story. She tried to get away from that but in the end they had a date next Saturday to start watching the movies together and they were all smiling.

            Regina took over washing the dishes while Henry took Emma to the living room to play some video games and talk about soccer. When the brunette entered the living room after she was done cleaning the TV was off and Henry was whiny; Emma looked apologetic.

            “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” the mother asked before taking a seat in one of the chairs. He just crossed his arms and grunted; Emma sighed at that.

            “I told him I have to go home and do housework,” she explained feeling ashamed, almost as if she was telling Regina that she stole Henry’s ice cream.

            “Tell her, mom, that she should stay!” He pleaded and Regina felt conflicted between her son’s plead and all the things she said to him about chores and how important it was to prioritize your responsibilities. She decided she should do the right thing.

            “Remember all the times that I told you ‘you should clean your room before you can play your video games’, that’s what Emma’s doing,” she explained, “it’s not that she doesn’t want to stay, she just needs to do her chores and she spent the whole morning with you and even made us lunch.”

            “Yeah, kid. I just need to have everything cleaned, the place is a total mess and I have to use my vacation time to tide it up,” she turned again to Henry trying to make he look at her and understand, “we can always see each other during the week. We can have a cocoa date, what do you think?”

            “Will you wait for me to finish my homework so we can spend the afternoon talking?” He said with a pout still hanging on his lips. That made both women smile, his mother totally proud.

            “Sure, kid. I can even try and help you with it. I’ll spend the whole afternoon with you until your mother finish work,” she said, certain that she had convinced him.

            “One more thing, though,” he started, the pout being substituted by a smirk, “you have to come have dinner with me and mom.”

            “I… uh…,” the blonde stuttered and scratched the back of her neck.

            “It’s ok, Emma… If you’re free, you should come have dinner with us,” Regina intervened, smiling at Emma and receiving a smile in return.

            “Then it’s a deal, I will call your mom later and arrange the day, ok?” Emma replied, turning back to Henry. He just hugged her, without needing to answer her question.

            A couple of minutes later Henry had retreated to his room to reed while the two adults walked to the door, uncertain of what to do. Regina once more opened the door for Emma who took a step out of the house before turning to study Regina.

            “We didn’t talk…,” the blonde seemed upset, and the brunette just shook her head no, then smiled.

            “We didn’t, but I guess we’ll probably run into each other Tuesday morning and then we have a dinner date with my son,” she replied with a slightly humorous tone of voice, it earned her a smile from the blonde.

            “Yeah, I guess I’ll see you Tuesday morning at the supermarket then…?” Emma half asked half stated.

            “Yeah, but you should call me later about our dinner date,” Regina chuckled.

            “I will…,” Emma said smiling before taking a step back, only for Regina to reach for her hand stopping her.

            The brunette simply took two steps forward molding her body to the blonde’s, their lips only separated by an inch, their eyes glued to each other. Less than a second later she smashed her lips against Emma’s making the younger woman take her by the hips, keeping their bodies together. As if she had counted ten seconds of shared breaths, sighs and small moans Regina took fast steps back inside the house, effectively separating them. Emma took the hint and took small steps back before turning around and walking back to her car. Both women were smiling like teenagers after the mansion’s door was closed.


	10. CHAPTER TEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if things seemed rushed at the end, but I got an internship at a law firm and it made writing very difficult with my classes at the university. I hope you guys enjoy it, thank you for your time! Thank you so much for reading this! I'm sorry for any mistakes in this chapter, feel free to show them to me, I had to write this while in class.

            So when Tuesday night came and they entered a small Italian restaurant only two blocks away from Regina’s store Emma had met the brunette earlier in the supermarket and kept her promise about spending the afternoon with Henry. A light mood revolved them while they walked to their table, Henry leading the line, Regina right behind with a shy Emma stealing a quick touch of hands that made both the blonde and the brunette smile and their stomachs flutter. They were placed in a small round table that made them all feel close to each other and at ease.

            “So, Henry… How was your afternoon with Miss Swan?” Regina asked, and both Emma and Henry rolled their eyes at the Miss-Swan-thing.

            “Em-ma,” he started making Emma chuckle and his mother shake her head, “helped me with my homework then she read a chapter of Chamber of Secrets for me while we drank our hot cocoas.”

            “You forgot about spending almost an hour looking for new soccer moves for you to rock your try-outs,” Emma helped.

            “Oh! Yeah! Mom you have to see the one where I kick the ball to one side and run for the other confusing the marker!” Henry excitedly explained.

            “I believe I’ll have to start watch your practice sessions from now on then,” Regina replied smiling to her son before glancing at Emma.

            “Yes! We all can have breakfast together this Sunday then we’ll prepare the backyard and you can take a seat near us so you can watch me!” the boy said with a wide smile.

            “Not too close or we might accidentally hurt your mom while practicing those new tricks, kid,” Emma grinned and Henry seemed to consider that while Regina studied them both.

            “Hum… Yeah, I think you’re right Emma,” he consented.

            “Well, now that you both white knights already made plans about my safety and entertainment this Sunday, should we order?” Regina asked then took a menu left at some point by the waiter; only then Emma noticed how she didn’t pay attention to anything but Regina and Henry since they sat.

…

            So an hour and a half later Emma carried a sleepy Henry back to Regina’s store where their cars were parked. During the entire walk silence accompanied them while Regina kept her hand around Emma’s right bicep. They would occasionally exchange glances and smiles, Regina would always take a look at Henry features, a soft smile played on his lips and he seemed relaxed in the blonde’s arms.

            Once they got to the car Emma put Henry on the back seat, securing him with the seat belt. His mother got in the car only to roll the windows down so Henry would be comfortable while they talked. The boy woke up briefly when she put him down, just so he could kiss her goodnight, only to sleep again seconds later. The blonde softly closed his door before turning to his mother who was now waiting standing by the driver’s door.

            “Hey,” Emma started leaned against the car as if they didn’t spend the previous hour having dinner together with Regina’s son.

            “Hey back,” Regina smirked.

            “Hum… I enjoyed dinner, very much,” the blonde confessed.

            “Me too, Emma,” the brunette sighed.

            “So I’m not seeing you tomorrow…?” Emma trailed off, Regina wasn’t sure if that was a question or an affirmation and frowned, “I mean, I assumed… Because you already saw me twice today, and even helped me with some healthy stuff at the supermarket… I…” she rambled.

            “I don’t have plans for lunch tomorrow,” Regina replied with a shrug.

            “No?” Emma smiled and Regina simply shook her head, “So can I come and make you some lunch then?”

            “You really want to make me lunch now, don’t you?” Regina chuckled.

            “Well, I already had my coffee date with you… Next step is cooking…” Emma explained smiling.

            “Oh, so you have steps for dating me?” Regina crossed her arms and leaned against the car as well.

            “Only three…” the blonde shrugged.

            “What are those, then?” the brunette tilted her head to the side, questioning.

            “First, I had to have a Coffee date. Then I should cook for you. And maybe, if I’m lucky, I could convince you to cuddle with me one of these days,” Emma hid her hands in her front pockets and put her weight on her other foot, shifting uncomfortably, clearly self-conscious.

            “I believe you’re working very hard and luck should be on your side in the future, Em-ma.”

            “Yeah?” the blonde relaxed and finally smile again at the brunette.

            “Yeah,” Regina took a step forward invading Emma’s personal space.

            Emma then used her now warm hands to cradle Regina’s face, her thumbs making soft circles on the brunette’s cheeks. They stared into each other’s eyes and the smiles wouldn’t go away anymore. Regina took the lead and used one of her hands to push Emma by her shirt’s hem, the blonde took the hint and their lips met. First the kiss was soft and even shallow, but Emma took one step forward molding their bodies and deepening the kiss, to which Regina responded happily.

…

            Next morning at 10 Emma arrived at the café and took her time once Ruby told her Regina was spending the morning taking calls so she could have her lunch hour to share with Emma. So the blonde decided to leave the ingredients in the kitchen and have some coffee with the barista chatting about her practice session with Henry and dinner with the Mills. Around 11AM Emma headed for the kitchen and started working on her omelets. She had decided to go simple; omelets into breadsticks seamed a good option and she was happy to find a juicer in the café’s kitchen so she could make some fresh orange juice.

            12:10PM she entered Regina’s office with a little guidance from Ruby and went straight for the conference table, putting their plates on it – Regina’s on the head, hers on Regina’s left. The brunette was just ending a call and smiled at the blonde when their eyes met. By the time Regina was done Emma had everything set on the table, the older woman then walked to the younger and they shared a brief and shy kiss before taking their places at the table. They shared lunch between small talk, talking about Henry and Regina’s compliments to Emma’s cooking. Regina finally felt light for the first time in forever with someone who wasn’t Henry, Emma finally felt at ease with the woman who completely terrified her at their first encounter.

            By the end of Wednesday lunch they’d already agreed to another lunch date by themselves that Friday, and that Emma would take Henry for a walk and some practice at the park the next day. Regina couldn’t believe she trusted someone with her son so soon, but Emma was so good with Henry and the mother could see the blonde’s eyes sparkling when she talked about the boy. And she couldn’t say no when her son was so captivated by Emma, when she was too captivated by Emma.

            By the end of the month Emma cooked a meal at least two times a week for Regina, until the day Emma got to the café’s kitchen and was met with the regal brunette in a apron cooking for her instead, so she sat there as Regina ordered and they laughed and talked while the brunette worked. The blonde would meet Henry for cocoa or practice at least three times a week. They had a family meal at least once a week, their Sunday breakfast couldn’t be skipped and they balanced everything so they could meet for dinner in the middle of the week as well.

            So when they reach the one month mark Emma and Regina are at Regina’s. They had already left the clothes on the ground while making their way to the brunette’s gigantic bed. Emma had her hand securing the older woman’s mouth against her own by the hair, her free hand found Regina’s waist very fast, pressing their bodies together making both of them moan and Regina bit Emma’s lower lip. So when the blonde decided to take her kisses lower, trailing them through the brunette’s neck making her way to the bra clad breasts only to back away.

            They stumbled all the way to the bed, while trying to get rid of what little clothing they had left. Until they fell in bed, naked. Emma over Regina, the detective used her arms to support herself, hovered the brunette instead of squashing her. The blonde took the older woman’s hands from her neck and pinned them against the bed while they kissed, then again she made her way lower while trailing her hands through the brunette’s arms, softly scratching them. The next thing the brunette felt was the blonde’s tongue slowly tracing the underside of her breasts making her shiver, making Emma’s hands go for her waist pressing it against the bed before she bit lightly where her tongue had just been. Emma sighed before taking one of Regina’s lips in her mouth, Regina’s hands instantly went for blonde tresses. And then Emma stopped leaving them both out of breath.

            “Emma!” Regina whined.

            “I’m sorry, I just need… I just need a minute, ok?” Emma tried to catch her breath while sitting on the brunette’s legs, Regina felt how wet the blonde was and moaned at that her hands tracing Emma’s curves until they stopped on her thighs, “just one minute, beautiful. I need to ask you something…”

            “Then ask me, dear,” Regina asked frowning, but Emma smiled.

            “I’m so happy you dropped the ‘darling’ thing,” and that made Regina laugh, relaxing again, “I just wanna make sure you’re not high from an orgasm when I ask you this,” Emma continued, more seriously now.

            “What do you want to ask me, Em?” Regina started making soothing motions on Emma’s legs so the blonde would feel comfortable.

            “I… You’re my girlfriend right? I mean, I love all of our dates, and spending time with Henry, and I believe my mother already told everyone in our town that I’m dating some beautiful latina with the smartest son. And I… I really want to try this, Regina. I really want to be yours and Henry’s, and for you both to be mine. I… Uh…” Emma started rambling and frowning, not looking at the brunette’s eyes anymore, once more showing her self-consciousness.

            “Emma,” Regina started and sat up so she could make Emma look at her eyes again, “I’m in bed with you, we spent the whole Sunday having fun with my son like I hadn’t in a very long time. If the way I look at you and want to have you close to me all the time is not the way to show you how much I want this, then tell me how can I make myself clearer,” Regina pleaded, then took Emma’s face between her hands, “obviously I’m your girlfriend, you idiot,” at that they both laughed.

            “Then I can introduce you to my parents, right?”

            “I believe you should, ASAP as you say,” Regina smiled.

…

            Regina didn’t imagine that her words could have the effect they had. A week later they were at Emma’s, Henry still asleep while she finished making coffee for both of them before heading back to bed and seating between the blonde’s legs with the mug in hand. They cuddled for a couple of minutes, taking some sips of coffee before the front door was opened and a very loud lady complaining about someone called David entered the apartment. Regina instantly put the mug on the night stand and Emma got up faster than Regina had ever seen, looking for some pants while the brunette sat at the bad stunned.

            “Emma, what’s happening?” the brunette asked.

            “Emma! Darling!” The loud lady’s voice came from the corridor. And then the blonde’s room door was open, making Regina grab the sheets covering herself.

            “Uh… Time to meet the parents?!” Emma asked while turning red.

            “Oh, Regina! It’s so very nice to meet you!” and then the loud woman Regina now knew was Mary Margaret - Emma’s mother – hugged the brunette as if she wasn’t lacking clothes.


End file.
